Mel Tillis - Love Revival

In this week's episode we're featuring yet another sterling album from Mel Tillis: "Love Revival" (1976). After a stint in the US Air Force and moving from his native Florida to Nashville in the mid 50s, Tillis struck paydirt as a songwriter relatively quickly. Hits with good friend Webb Pierce, Carl Smith and Brenda Lee helped him earn a recording contract with Columbia and later Kapp Records, but solo success didn't really happen until the 70s. Seemingly one of the many overlooked figures on classic country radio today, Tillis' catalogue is absolutely chock-full of solid country gold. "Love Revival" is one such album - packed with fiddle and steel and a good dose of country shuffles. "Good Woman Blues" was the big hit, but dig past it and there is a lot to like. The intertwining fiddle and steel intro on "I Order One For Me" is simply addictive; included is an excellent cover of Hank Thompson's "The New Green Light"; the excellent shuffler "My Only Strange Love" deals with a husband and wife grown apart and "Gator Bar" is a typically self-deprecating slice of Tillis humour. An easily overlooked sterling album release from front to back.